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A gorgeous and rare rainbow boa constrictor named ‘Ronaldo’ which has lived at the City of Portsmouth College in Southern England for the past 9 years after being rescued by the RSPCA shocked caretakers when they found the snake, believed to be a male, had given birth to 14 babies.
The rainbow boa is a stunning species of snake whose colors are best observed at night with a flashlight as their snakeskin and scales produce an ethereal rainbow aura that our human eyes have difficulty seeing in daylight. Native to Central an dSouth America, rainbow boas are often prized pets for reptile lovers and that’s presumably how this one ended up at the City of Portsmouth College after being rescued by the RSPCA.
How Does A Snake Give Virgin Birth?
Ronaldo the Rainbow Boa Constrictor was long believed to be a male and, in fact, he was. But at some point Ronaldo underwent the process of Parthenogenesis which is a rare but natural form of asexual reproduction that is more common in snakes than in most species.
The City of Portsmouth College announced the arrival of the new baby snakes through what is called ‘virgin birth’ in a post on Instagram and in an article. It was also announced they would be rehoming the baby snakes to lucky individuals in the area.
Animal Care Technician Amanda McLeod said “one of the students discovered them during a routine vivarium check. At first we thought she must have been mistaken. We couldn’t believe our eyes!”
Pete Quinlan, City of Portsmouth College’s reptile specialist, was called in to investigate. He said “I’ve been breeding snakes for 50 years and I’ve never known this happen before. Effectively the babies are clones of their mother although their markings are all slightly different. Ronaldo had been looking slightly fatter than usual, like he’d eaten a big meal, but we never thought for a moment that he, or should we say she, was pregnant.”
If you have a few minutes and are curious about how Parthenogenesis works, this YouTube video does a pretty good job at explaining this ‘virgin birth’ phenomenon that naturally occurs in snakes:
Each of the 14 baby rainbow snakes born through virgin birth (Parthenogenesis) will be given its own vivaria (enclosure) at the City of Portsmouth College until they are old enough to be rehomed.